]]>6968Two Solemnities celebrated during Lent in our parishhttp://www.stbernardsparish.ca/two-solemnities-celebrated-during-lent-in-our-parish/
Sun, 10 Mar 2019 17:27:56 +0000http://www.stbernardsparish.ca/?p=6965Keep Reading]]>During Lent, apart from Sundays, there are 2 special solemnities – the highest form of feast – which gives us the opportunity to relax our fast and celebrate together:

Both Masses will be supported by an excellent choral group and we will offer our prayers in joyful and beautiful solemnity. Please join us for these special days of prayer

Tuesday MARCH 19: SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOSEPHHusband of Blessed Mary, Principal Patron of Canada
The Holy Mass will be celebrated At Saint Bernard’s Church, at 7:00 pm. (Incense will be used at this Mass).

Monday MARCH 25: ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORDThe Holy Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, at 7:00 pm.

Beginning this Friday March 8, our parish will come together for weekly dinners and to pray the Stations of the Cross. The Soup dinners will start at 6:00 pm, followed by the Stations of the Cross at 7:00 pm.

We need volunteers to help provide meatless soup each week. If you are able, please contact the parish office to offer your help. We will alternate between our 2 churches each week.

DATES:March 8 – St. Bernard’s
March 15 – Our Lady of the Assumption
March 22 – St. Bernard’s
March 29 – Our Lady of the Assumption
April 5 – St. Bernard’s
April 12 -Our Lady of the Assumption

For the past 2 years, the special liturgies of Holy Week – the Paschal Triduum – have been celebrated at Our Lady of the Assumption church. One new thing in our parish this year is the St. Francis Xavier Chaplaincy Centre finding their home at Saint
Bernard’s church. The Chaplaincy has already shared two clear desires: to celebrate their own set of Holy Week liturgies, and also, not to displace the regular life of the parish. They will be happy to gather at whichever church that our parish will not be using during these days.
In order to honour the longstanding habit of the parish during Holy Week, this year, the Triduum of Holy Week—Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil will be held at Saint Bernard’s church – where our whole parish will gather. The St. Francis Xavier Chaplaincy will gladly gather at Our Lady of the Assumption.

]]>6949Chalking of the Door – An Epiphany House Blessinghttp://www.stbernardsparish.ca/chalking-of-the-door-an-epiphany-house-blessing/
Fri, 05 Jan 2018 15:53:01 +0000http://www.stbernardsparish.ca/?p=5771Keep Reading]]>“Chalking the door” is a way to celebrate and literally mark the occasion of the Epiphany and God’s blessing of our lives and home. With time the chalk will fade. As it does we let the meaning of the symbols written sink into the depths of our heart and be manifest in our words and actions the Latin words, Christus mansionem benedictat, “May Christ bless the house.”

A traditional way of doing this is to use chalk to write above the home’s entrance, 20 + C + M + B + 19. The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross and 2019 is the year.

Blessing the Chalk:

The following prayer is taken from the book, The Twelve Days of Christmas, by Elsa Chaney.

LEADER (Priest, if present, or father of the family): Peace be to this house.

ALL: And to all who dwell herein.

ALL: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.

ALL PRAY: The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). During the Magnificat, the room is sprinkled with holy water and incense. After this is completed,

ALL: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of his burial.

LEADER: Our Father…And lead us not into temptation

ALL: But deliver us from evil.

LEADER: All they from Saba shall come.

ALL: Bringing gold and frankincense.

LEADER: O Lord, hear my prayer,

ALL: And let my cry come to you.

LEADER: Let us pray. O God, who by the guidance of a star didst on this day manifest Thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we who know Thee by faith may also attain the vision of Thy glorious majesty. Through Christ our Lord.

The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and sixteen years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.

Then offer the following prayer: Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live or visit here

]]>5771November – Month of Praying for the Deadhttp://www.stbernardsparish.ca/november-month-of-praying-for-the-dead/
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 19:00:49 +0000http://www.stbernardsparish.ca/?p=3205Keep Reading]]>In November the Church remembers our Faithful Departed, as is recommended in the Scriptures of the Old Testament: “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”(2 Macch. 12, 46). This is found not only in public and private prayers but also in the offering of the Mass for the repose of the souls of the departed. Similarly, in November the Church prays for all who are in Purgatory, awaiting for the day, when fully purified ,they will join the company of the saints in heaven. The celebration of Mass is the ultimate means that the Church can provide for charity for the dead. However, the faithful can also relieve their sufferings through prayers, sufferings and penances, or other acts and prayers that have indulgences attached to them.

HAC for Fr.Nathan – image – Bouguereau – 1859

There are many indulgences, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, that can be obtained during November. During November the Church also meditates on the Communion of Saints, which is the link with the faithful who have already reached heaven (Church Triumphant), the faithful departed who are still expiating their sins in Purgatory (Church Suffering) and of the pilgrim faithful here on earth (Church Militant). “In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1475).

November: The Souls of the Faithful:

Let me see if I can recall, if I can rememberThe wintry days of the month of NovemberThe wind above my head blew and swirledThe dark clouds before me were unfurledThe leaves clinging to the windswept treesGave up their struggle, to the fierce breezeMy breaking heart sunk deep into my chestAnd a myriad of memories became my guestThe souls of the faithful are in God’s handsLife, a precious gift, lived as God’s commandsWe walk this green earth for only a few yearsOur tiny steps accompanied by joys and tearsAll crammed into the little time we are givenUntil we set our sights upon walking in heavenI pray for the departed loved ones, I will rememberA sacred intention, in the month of November.

“It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.Nothing we do is complete,Which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.No statement says all that could be said.No prayer fully expresses our faith.No confession brings perfection.No pastoral visit brings wholeness.No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.No set of goals and objectives includes everything.This is what we are about:We plant seeds that one day will grow.We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.We lay foundations that will need further development.We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker.We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.We are prophets of a future not our own.”

Pope Paul VI presided over the final sessions of the Second Vatican Council which lasted from 1962-65, modernizing the Roman Catholic Church and bringing it forward into the world. Under his leadership the liturgy was permitted to be celebrated in the vernacular and increasing roles for the laity were initiated. As well, an emphasis on improved relations with people of other faiths – ecumenism – was introduced.

]]>6646Sept. 14 – Feast of the Exaltation of the Crosshttp://www.stbernardsparish.ca/sept-14-feast-of-the-exaltation-of-the-cross/
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 15:27:02 +0000http://www.stbernardsparish.ca/?p=6581Keep Reading]]>The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, celebrated every year on September 14, recalls three events: the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine; the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary; and the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem in AD 629 by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius after it had fallen into the hands of the Persian emperor Chosroes II in the AD 614 Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem.Under emperor Constantine, around 327, Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, caused excavations to be made in order to ascertain the location of Calvary as well as that of the Holy Sepulchre. It was in the course of these excavations that the wood of the Cross was recovered. It was determined by Macarius to be authentic (the crosses of the Two Thieves were also recovered) and for it Constantine built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.The feast was observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century.

image- Anglo Saxon Crucifix, Romney Abbey,Kent UK

In Anglo-Saxon literature, the Exaltation of the Cross takes its most vivid form in the epic poem “The Dream of the Rood” written from the perspective of the tree that became the Cross. “Rood” is the Anglo Saxon word for the Cross, and may be seen preserved in usage in such terms as HolyRood, and in the term “rood screen” which was the ornate wooden screen that separated the chancel from the nave.The rood screen is so called because it was surmounted by the Rood itself, a large figure of the crucified Christ. Commonly, to either side of the Rood, there stood supporting statues of saints, normally Mary and St John.

In The Dream of the Rood, the cross has a voice and can feel and express emotion – ripped from its roots in the wood, it says:

“Men bore me on their shoulders there, until they fixed me on a hill; many enemies fastened me there. Then I saw the Lord of mankind hasten with great courage, because he wanted to climb upon me. There I did not dare, against the Lord’s word, to bend or break when I saw the earth’s surface tremble. I could have felled all those enemies, but I stood fast. The young hero stripped himself – he was God Almighty, strong and stout-minded. He mounted the high gallows, courageous in the sight of many, when he intended to save mankind. I trembled when that man embraced me; yet I dared not bow to the ground, fall to the surface of the earth, but I had to stand fast. As a rood was I reared. I lifted the mighty King, the Lord of the heavens; I did not dare to bend. They drove me through with dark nails. On me those sores are seen, open wounds of wickedness. I dared not harm any of them. They mocked us, both together. I was entirely bedewed with blood poured out from that man’s side, after he sent forth his spirit. I experienced on that hill many cruel events, I saw the God of hosts severely stretched out. Darkness had covered with clouds the Ruler’s body, the shining brightness. A shadow passed dark under the heavens. All creation wept, lamented the king’s fall. Christ was on the cross.”

]]>6581Abuse in the Church – A Pastoral Responsehttp://www.stbernardsparish.ca/abuse-in-the-church-a-pastoral-response/
Sat, 18 Aug 2018 05:14:57 +0000http://www.stbernardsparish.ca/?p=6513Keep Reading]]>The Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories have issued a pastoral response to concerns raised by the recent report of extensive clerical sex abuse in Pennsylvania.

“Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Like you and faithful Catholics everywhere, we heard the most recent revelations of child sex abuse by clergy in the United States with deep dismay.

We share with you a profound sense of disappointment, grief and anger over the actions of people entrusted to act in the name of Christ and guide His Church. We echo the sentiments expressed in the statement released (August 16, 2018) from the Vatican regarding the Interim Report of the Investigating Grand Jury of Pennsylvania:

“The abuses described in the report are criminal and morally reprehensible. Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and their faith. The Church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur….

The Holy See encourages continued reform and vigilance at all levels of the Catholic Church, to help ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable adults from harm. The Holy See also wants to underscore the need to comply with the civil law, including mandatory child abuse reporting requirements.

The Holy Father understands well how much these crimes can shake the faith and the spirit of believers and reiterates the call to make every effort to create a safe environment for minors and vulnerable adults in the Church and in all of society.

Victims should know that the Pope is on their side. Those who have suffered are his priority, and the Church wants to listen to them to root out this tragic horror that destroys the lives of the innocent.”
​
Our hearts break when we hear that children have been harmed in such a lasting and destructive way, through absolutely no fault of their own. It is particularly abhorrent when perpetrated by a member of the clergy. We share in the shame and sorrow of those whose faith has been shaken by this news. When a member of the body suffers, the whole body of Christ suffers. We encourage everyone to pray for the victims, and to remember that the power of the Gospel message can never be destroyed by sin.

To our brothers and sisters who have suffered personally or through family members who have been abused in the Church community, we pledge to listen, and to share your pain and anguish. We invite you to contact us at the local diocesan office.

To those who continue to serve the Church in ministry, whether ordained or lay persons, we are grateful for your dedication and faith in this difficult time. We stand with you, and we pray that God give us all the courage and resilience we need to persevere and remain always morally accountable in our ministry.

​We all have a sacred trust to protect those who are vulnerable, particularly children, and to stand up and speak when we witness that trust betrayed. We have made Safe Environments and Abuse Prevention programs a high priority in our dioceses. We cannot run or hide from instances of abuse and harm, and we have no desire to do so. We confront these situations with the Gospel principles of truth, justice, repentance and healing.

With this letter, we renew our commitment to ensure that any clergy, employee, or lay volunteer who commits an offence against children or other vulnerable persons is promptly removed from ministry, that any offences are immediately reported to civil authorities, and that victims receive an apology, compassion and assistance in recovering from any harm they have suffered, including compensation where appropriate.

With the help of God’s grace, we must continue to exercise our responsibility for the care of all victims, especially children. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may we always fulfill our moral obligation to uphold and safeguard the dignity of each human person.